Oil skimmer barge

ABSTRACT

An oil skimming water vessel having a hull and deck forming one or more interior compartments, wherein the hull comprising a bow or forward section, a mid-section, a stern or aft section, and an oil skimmer assembly. The oil skimmer assembly having first and second separated side walls (SKEG) extending vertically down from the rake bottom shell, a skimmer bottom plate extending between and affixed at the lower end sections of each of the side walls (SKEG) wherein the skimmer bottom plate having at least one discharge opening in its leading edge section, and a weir plate assembly. The weir plate with the side walls, the skimmer bottom plate, and the rake bottom shell forming an entrance to receive skimmed oil-containing water and a rear compartment positioned rearward of the weir plate to collect the skimmed oil-containing water passing over the top edge of the weir plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to apparatus for skimming oil from thesurface of large bodies of water, more particularly to a reconfiguredbarge that is structured to skim oil from the surface of large bodies ofwater.

2. Prior Art

One long standing problem with the drilling and transporting of oil hasbeen the spilling of oil into the waterways and water bodies in whichthe oil drilling and oil transporting take place. In response to thisproblem various devices, such as oil booms, oil skimmers and other oilcollecting assemblies, have been attached to a variety of water craftfrom smaller boats, such as air boats and shrimp trawlers, to largeships, such as supertankers. However, the waterways and water bodies arenot static, but are in constant motion due to weather or tideconditions. In deep, large bodies of waters, such as the oceans or largegulfs, there are likely two to three feet waves even on very calm days,and more likely larger waves up to six feet are common. For thesereasons small water craft have been ineffective in collecting the oil insuch bodies of water. Unfortunately, the oil collection process is madeeven more difficult by the fact that the oil slick is also moving bothon the water surface, as well as, vertically in the water. This movementis not necessarily coordinated with the movement of the wave action ofthe water which can result in the oil slicks making sudden turns ormovements. Most large vessels are not sufficiently maneuverable to trackthe movement of these oil slicks, and therefore are inefficient incollecting the oil in the rougher, larger bodies of water. If there arelarge quantities of oil to be collected it is highly desirable that thewater vessels be designed to collect large quantities of oil over arelatively short time period to prevent the oil from spreading andreaching the shorelines where recovery may be even more difficult andincreased damage to the environment can occur. Despite this decades oldproblem and the large sums of money and manpower spent there stillexists a need for a water vessel having the combined ability to operatein rough seas with the necessary maneuverability to track the oil atspeeds that permit the collection of large quantities of oil over arelatively short period of time. Such a vessel would be very desirableto the oil and gas drilling and transporting industry.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, one object of this invention is to provide a water vesselhaving the combined ability to operate in rough seas with the necessarymaneuverability to track the oil at speeds that permitted the collectionof large quantities of oil over a relatively short period of time.

Other objects and advantages of this invention shall become apparentfrom the ensuing descriptions of the invention.

Accordingly, one embodiment this invention comprises an oil skimmerassembly constructed having separated side walls attachable to a bow orstern section rake wall of a barge or similar water vessel, a skimmerbottom plate extending between the separated side walls, and a weirplate assembly including a weir plate extending upward from the skimmerbottom plate. In one preferred embodiment, the separated side wallsextend downward from the rake wall of either the bow or stern sectionpreferably to a depth approximating the depth of the barge bottom. Inthis embodiment the skimmer bottom plate is preferably affixed to eachof the separated side walls so that it is also at a depth approximatingthe depth of the barge bottom. In a more preferred embodiment theskimmer bottom plate has one or more openings positioned between theleading edge of the skimmer bottom plate and the weir plate to permitthe lower layer of the oil and water mixture entering the oil skimmerassembly to flow out of the oil skimmer assembly before it can pass overthe weir plate. In another preferred embodiment the weir plate willextend upward to a height above the barge draft line.

The rake wall section, the separated side walls, the skimmer bottomplate, and the weir plate are assembled to form a skimming entrancewhich during operation receives the oil and water mixture from thesurface layer of the body of water and a rearward positioned compartmentfor capturing the oil and water mixture that flows over the top of theweir plate. In another preferred embodiment a standpipe extends from thebarge deck to the barge wall section whereby it opens up into the rearcompartment to permit a suction hose to extend from the barge deck intothe rear compartment to siphon off the collected oil and water mixture.

In another embodiment of the invention, a barge having the oil skimmerassembly operatively attached to either its bow section rake wall or itsstern section rake wall is constructed having at least one, butpreferably two or three separate elongated compartments or holds withinthe hull, preferably running parallel to the sides of the barge. Thisembodiment further includes a combination of hoses, pumps and valvesoperatively connected to siphon the oil and water mixture from the oilskimmer assembly compartment to a first of the barge compartments, thento the second barge compartment, then to the third barge compartment,and then uploaded to an oil storage tank or oil transport vessel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 1 is a profile view of a preferred embodiment of the modified oilskimmer barge of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the modified oil skimmer barge illustrated inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial stern view depicting the oil skimmer modificationincluding the weir plate, the filler plate and the SKEG of the oilskimmer barge taken along lines III-III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view taken along lines IV-IV illustrating the featuresof the skimmer bottom plate.

FIG. 5 is an elevation view taken along lines V-V of FIG. 2 illustratingthe positioning of the weir plate and standpipe in relationship to theskimmer bottom plate.

FIG. 6 is a section view taken along lines VI-VI in FIG. 5 illustratinga front view of the weir plate assembly including the weir plate, thefiller plate and vertical support beams.

FIG. 7 is an orthogonal plan view of the rake or inclined bottom of thestern section of the oil skimmer barge taken along lines VII-VII of FIG.5.

FIG. 8 is a detail view in FIG. 5 illustrating the attachment of thestandpipe to the deck of the barge in FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a detail view in FIG. 5 illustrating the attachment of thestandpipe to the rake or inclined stern wall.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Without any intent to limit the scope of this invention, reference ismade to the figures in describing the preferred embodiments of theinvention. Although there are different kinds of water vessels that canbe utilized, the preferred embodiments of the invention are illustratedutilizing a modified conventional barge.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional barge 1 that has been modifiedto add the oil skimmer assembly 2 of this invention. Although barges canvary in dimensions this invention is applicable to all sizes. A smallerbarge may typically be 54 feet wide by 180 feet long. Larger barges maytypically be 100 feet wide by 330 feet long. Barge 1 is shown scaled tobe 90 feet wide and 300 feet long. The barge 1 comprises a hullstructure 3 and a deck structure 4. The hull and deck structures 3, 4form a barge having a bow or forward section 5, a mid-section 6 and astern or aft section 7. Typically, either or both the bow section 5 orthe stern section 6 will be constructed having a rake wall surface 8. InFIGS. 1 & 2 only the stern section 6 is illustrated have flat rake wallsurface 8 that extends between the sides of the barge 1. It is tosurface 8 that the oil skimmer assembly 2 is attached. It is to beunderstood that if the bow section 5 had a similar rake wall surface,the oil skimmer assembly 2 could be attached to the bow section rakewall surface. The hull structure 3 will also include a keel or bottomsection 9. The barge 1 will also include a series of steel or othermetal walls 10-19 affixed to the hull structure 3 and deck structure 4that form separated compartments 20-22 that can be used to contain theoil and water mixture that has been collected by the oil skimmerassembly 2. The deck area above compartments 20-22 can be open to permitvisual inspection of the oil-water mixture level in each compartment20-22 and to determine the degree of oil separation from the water.

The barge 1 may also include a superstructure 23 on top of the deckstructure 4 that can serve as a control room for operating the equipmentthat may be used on the barge 1, or if the barge 1 is self-propelled asthe bridge. Typically, the barge 1 would be navigated by a tug (notshown) pushing against the barge stern section 7. However, in thisinvention the oil skimmer assembly 2 is affixed to and becomes part ofthe barge stern section 7. Therefore, the barge is navigated by a tugpushing against the barge bow section 5 or by being lashed to barge 1 byropes or other conventional means to be positioned at the mid-section 6of the barge 1 along one side of the hull structure 3. In anotherembodiment the barge 1 may include its own propulsion system thatpermits it to navigate without the use of a tug.

FIG. 3 illustrates a frontal view of a preferred embodiment of the oilskimmer assembly 2 affixed to rake wall surface 8. Oil skimmer assembly2 includes a pair of separated vertically oriented side walls 24, 25, askimmer bottom plate 26 and a weir assembly 27 including a weir plate28. FIG. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the skimmer bottomplate 26, as viewed from its underneath side 29, having a series oflatitudinal stiffeners 30 affixed to the underneath side 29 and runningfrom the bottom plate leading edge 31 that receives the oil and watermixture (as indicated by the and toward the bottom plate rearward edge32. In addition, there is a second series of longitudinal stiffeners 33of reinforcing metal I-beams or other shaped longitudinal stiffeners33A-33D affixed to the upper side 34 of skimmer bottom plate 26 andrunning between the side plates 24, 25. FIG. 4 also illustrates oneembodiment of a novel feature of the oil skimmer assembly 2. Skimmerbottom plate 26 is provided with at least one, and more preferably, witha series of openings 35 positioned between the latitudinal stiffeners 30and the longitudinal stiffeners 33 and between skimmer bottom plateleading edge 31 and the attachment position 36 that weir plate 28extends upward from the longitudinal stiffener 33B. It has beenunexpectedly found that barge 1 can be operated at greater speed, handlethe large volume of water entering the oil skimmer assembly entrance 37,and more efficiently capture that portion of the entering water thatcontain the desired oil if skimmer bottom plate 26 is further providedwith a series of separated openings 35. The number and size of theopenings 35 depends on barge size, sea conditions and the volume ofwater that enters the oil skimmer assembly entrance 37. Althoughopenings 35 can assume different shapes and sizes, it is preferred thatopenings 35 be uniformly spaced across skimmer bottom plate 26 and eachopening 35 be 1-3 feet in diameter, more preferably about 2 feet indiameter.

During the oil skimming operation, oil skimmer assembly 2 is subjectedto extreme forces caused by the forward movement of barge 1 forcinglarge volumes of water into the oil skimmer assembly 2 and by the bodyof water striking the oil skimmer assembly 2 as the barge moves up anddown as the result of the wave action. It is therefore, preferable thatoil skimmer assembly 2 be provided with additional structural bracingsuch as illustrated in FIGS. 5-7. These would include the series of rowsof vertical steel I-beams 38 extending upward from and attached at theirlower end 38L to the longitudinal stiffeners 33 and at their upper end38U to longitudinal stiffeners 39 affixed to bottom rake surface 8. Inaddition, beams 38 are further strengthened by cross-bracing members 40.Bottom rake surface 8 is also provided with latitudinal beams 41.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8-9, standpipe 42 extends from deck opening 43through bottom rake surface opening 44. Standpipe 42 is of sufficientdiameter to permit a hose to extend through to assist in the removal ofthe oil and water mixture that passes over weir plate 28 and captured inskimmer compartment 45 formed by weir plate 28, skimmer bottom plate 29,and bottom rake side 8. If desired, one than one standpipe 42 can beinstalled to permit more than one hose to be inserted into oil skimmerassembly compartment 45. Standpipe 42 is supported in place by upperbrackets 46, 47 and lower brackets 48, 49.

In a preferred embodiment as seen in FIG. 2, deck structure 4 will havea stern section 4A and a bow section 4B on which the various pumps51-54, generators 55-56, hoses 56-65, valves 66-68, connectingelectrical wires 69-72, and other equipment can be operativelypositioned.

In operation, a tug boat is connected to one side of barge 1 in anyconventional manner that permits the tug boat to drive the barge stern 7forward toward the oil slick that is to be skimmed As the stern 7 entersthe oil slick the oil-water mixture on the water surface, as well as thesubstantially water only layer below the oil-water mixture is funneledinto the oil skimmer apparatus entrance 38. With the continued forwardmovement of barge 1 the oil and water mixture is forced against weirplate 28, and its level is caused to rise as additional oil and waterenters entrance 38 until it flows over the top edge 50 of weir plate 28.The selection of number and size of drain openings 35 and the selectionof the barge speed forces the bottom portion of the mixture and water toexit through drain openings 35. Since the bottom portion issubstantially only water, there exists a greater oil-to-water ratio inthe oil-water mixture flowing over weir plate top edge 50. Thus, thereis a significantly greater percentage of oil to water captured in ashorter period of time than had heretofore been possible with other deepwater oil skimmer assemblies. In turn this allows much larger quantitiesof oil to be separated from the water without having to shut down theskimming operation of the barge 1 as had been required by other priorart techniques.

As the oil skimmer assembly compartment 45 fills with the oil-watermixture, intake hose 57 is inserted through deck opening 43 and intostandpipe 42 until it extends into oil skimmer assembly compartment 45.Generator 55 is started to apply power through line 69 to pump 51 thatthen pumps out the captured oil-water mixture in compartment 45. Theoil-water mixture enters the intake section of pump 51 and is thendischarged from pump 51 from its discharge section through dischargehose 58 into holding tank 20. Because the volume of holding tank 20 issignificantly larger than that of oil skimmer assembly compartment 45,the further separation of the oil and water takes place as holding tank20 fills up. When holding tank 20 reaches a predetermined level theseparating oil and water mixture is pumped to holding tank 21 by use ofintake hose 59, pump 53 powered by generator 56, and discharge hose 60.Once holding tank 21 reaches its predetermined level the furtherseparated oil and water mixture is pumped to holding tank 22 by use ofintake hose 61, pump 52 also powered by generator 55 and discharge hose62. By setting the level of fluid in each holding tank 20, 21 and 22allows the operator to maintain barge 1 level and continue efficientskimming operations. If the oil and water have sufficiently separated inholding tank 21, intake hose 61 is inserted until its intake end is nearthe bottom of holding tank 21 so as to first remove the denser water. Byclosing valve 66 and opening valve 67, this water can be dischargedthrough hose 63 back into the water body. The remaining concentrated oilmixture can be pumped into holding tank 22 by reversing the valvesettings. Finally, the concentrated oil mixture in holding tank 22 isremoved by inserting hose 64 near the top of the liquid level in holdingtank 22 to remove the concentrated oil mixture by opening valve 68 andactivating pump 54 to discharge it to an oil tanker other larger vesselthat can transport it to storage tanks located on shore. Alternatively,hose 64 can be positioned near the bottom of the holding tank 22 tofirst remove the remaining water by pumping it back into the water body.Once the water is removed pump 54 is shut down and the remaining 95+%oil mixture is captured in holding tank 21 where it can be off-loaded toa tanker. It is preferred that once holding tank 21 has reached thedesired level, that the skimming operation be stopped for a short periodof time, preferably 30-60 minutes, to permit further separation of theoil and water. Such procedure has achieved a 99% separation of the oiland water on barge 1. This separation is significantly greater than anyother known deep water skimming vessel that is designed to capture thesame quantities of oil-water mixture.

There are many various configurations of pumps and hoses that could beused to move the oil and water mixture foam one hold to another hold.This would include the use of a single pump to perform more than onesegment of the transfer of the oil and water mixture between the holds.In whatever configuration used, it is desirable that a minimum amount ofturbulence in the oil and water mixture be created during the transferfrom one hold to the next hold. It is also desirable that the size,shape and number holds be such to achieve the desired separation of oiland water in the last hold in order to ensure only a minimum amount ofthe oil that may been captured is returned to the water body. In anotherembodiment the pumps could be hydraulically driven.

1. An oil skimmer assembly for collecting an oil and water mixture foundin the surface layer of a body of water and for use with a water vesselhaving a hull and deck forming a bow section, a mid-section and a sternsection, at least one of the bow section or the stern section having anrake exterior wall surface, comprising: a. a pair of separated sidewalls, each side wall affixable to the rake exterior wall surface; b. askimmer bottom plate extending between and affixed to the pair ofseparated side walls at their lower edge sections, the skimmer bottomplate having having at least one opening; c. a weir assembly comprisinga weir affixed to and extending upward between the at least one openingand the rearward edge; d. wherein the side walls, the skimmer bottomplate and the weir assembly when affixed to the rake exterior wallsurface form a skimming entrance into which the oil and water mixturecan enter.
 2. An oil skimmer assembly according to claim 1 wherein: a.the exterior rake wall surface having an upper edge section and a loweredge section, b. each side wall having an upper edge section and a loweredge section, wherein each side wall is structured to permit its loweredge section to be affixed to the exterior rake wall surface lower edgesection and to permit its upper edge section to extend above the surfacelayer of the body of water, and c. the skimmer bottom plate is affixedto the side walls at about the same depth that the side walls areaffixed to the exterior rake wall surface lower edge section.
 3. An oilskimmer assembly according to claim 1 wherein the at least one openinghas an area to prevent at least a portion of a lower layer of the oiland water mixture from passing over the weir and into an oil and watermixture collection compartment formed by the sidewalls, the skimmerbottom plate and the weir assembly when affixed to the rake exteriorwall surface.
 4. The oil skimmer assembly according to claim 3 whereinthe skimmer bottom plate has a leading edge section, and wherein skimmerbottom plate comprises a series of separated ribs extending from therearward section of the skimmer bottom plate toward the leading edge ofthe skimmer bottom plate, and one or more cutout openings in the bottomplate, each opening of the one or more cutout openings positionedbetween the series of separated ribs.
 5. An oil skimmer assemblyaccording to claim 1 wherein the weir has a top edge and a heightwherein the upper edge extends above the body of water surface layer andbelow the exterior rake wall surface.
 6. An oil skimming water vesselhaving a hull and deck forming a bow section, a mid-section and a sternsection, the mid-section having at least one interior compartment forreceiving an oil and water mixture, at least one of the bow section orthe stern section having an exterior rake wall surface, the improvementto which comprises affixing an oil skimmer assembly to the exterior rakewall surface, wherein the oil skimmer assembly comprises: a. a pair ofseparated side walls, each side wall affixable to the rake exterior wallsurface; b. a skimmer bottom plate extending between and affixed to thepair of separated side walls, the skimmer bottom plate having a rearwardedge having at least one opening; c. a weir assembly comprising a weiraffixed to and extending upward between the at least one opening and therearward edge; d. wherein the side walls, the skimmer bottom plate andthe weir assembly when affixed to the rake exterior wall surface form askimming entrance into which the oil and water mixture can enter.
 7. Anoil skimming water vessel according to claim 6 wherein the mid-sectionhaving at least two interior compartments for receiving an oil and watermixture from the oil skimmer assembly collecting compartment, furthercomprising: a. at least one standpipe operatively extending from thedeck to the exterior rake wall surface at a position leading into an oilskimmer assembly collecting compartment formed by the sidewalls, theskimmer bottom plate and the weir assembly when affixed to the rakeexterior wall surface; b. a first pump positioned on the deck and havingan intake opening and a discharge opening, a first hose operativelyattached to the intake opening and sized to extend through the at leastone standpipe and into the oil skimmer assembly collecting compartmentto draw the oil and water mixture from the collecting compartment and tothe pump, a second hose operatively attached to the discharge opening toreceive the oil and water mixture from the pump and to deliver the oiland water mixture to at least one of the at least two interiorcompartments; and c. a second pump positioned on the deck and having anintake opening and a discharge opening, a second pump first hoseoperatively attached to the second pump intake opening and sized toextend into at least one of the at least two interior compartments todraw the oil and water mixture from the at least one of the at least twointerior compartments and to the second pump, a second hose operativelyattached to the second pump discharge opening to receive the oil andwater mixture from the pump and to deliver the oil and water mixture toanother of the at least two interior compartments.
 8. An oil skimmingwater vessel according to claim 7 further comprising an oil and watermixture transfer device for drawing the oil and water mixture from theanother of the at least two interior compartments and to deliver the oiland water mixture to a designated location.
 9. An oil skimming watervessel according to claim 8 wherein the oil and water mixture transferdevice comprises the second pump, a directional flow control valveoperatively attached to the second pump discharge opening wherein thesecond pump second hose and a second pump third hose are operativelyattached to the directional flow control valve to receive the oil andwater mixture flowing through the directional flow control valve whenthe directional flow control valve is directed to direct the oil andwater mixture to either the second pump second hose or the second pumpthird hose.
 10. An oil skimming water vessel according to claim 8wherein the oil and water mixture transfer device comprises a third pumppositioned on the deck and having a third pump intake opening and athird pump discharge opening, a third pump first hose operativelyattached to the third pump intake opening and sized to extend into theanother of the at least two interior compartments, a third pump secondhose operatively attached to the third pump discharge opening to receivethe oil and water mixture from the third pump and to deliver the oil andwater mixture to the designated location.